Boys' Cross Country Runner of the Year: Justin Branco

Branco gave up soccer to try cross country and excelled

Dec. 9, 2013

Justin Branco

Written by

Sean Fallon

Special to The Daily Journal

To say Justin Branco was reluctant is an understatement. ¶ Despite a successful sophomore season in track for Delsea Regional High School last spring, in which he ran the 1,600 meters in a very respectable time of four minutes and 32 seconds, continuing as a runner in the fall for cross country was not going to be an option. ¶ “I’ve played soccer all my life,” Branco explains. “I wasn’t going to run cross country.” ¶ However, with help from a very persistent coach, Ron Deckert, Branco had a change of heart and joined the Crusaders’ program.

“At first I was reluctant,” Branco said. “Deck really pushed me to come out, and I gave in. But as I continued to train, I got used to it.”

The decision to go out benefited all parties as the Crusaders — who were expected to take a slight step back after the graduation of Nick Costello, The Daily Journal’s Runner of the Year for 2011 and 2012 — did not lose any ground as a program. Branco was a big reason for this.

For his efforts, Branco is The Daily Journal’s Boys’ Cross Country Runner of the Year.

“It’s a lot of adjustment at first,” Branco said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect.”

Branco, who was expected to start the season in the middle of the Delsea lineup, immediately made his presence felt with a very respectable 10th-place finish in the junior race at the Cherokee Challenge and a second-place finish in the “stud” race at the South Jersey Shootout, losing to standout runners including Sean McPherson of Sterling and Shawn Hutchison of Bishop Eustace.

“I was surprised by my finish,” Branco said. “But I came away thinking that I can run with these guys.”

Buoyed with that confidence, Branco later took advantage of his home course to finish eighth in the Division 2 race at the South Jersey Open, which helped the Crusaders to reach a second-place team finish.

He later added a fifth-place finish at the Gloucester County meet and an eighth-place showing at the Tri-County Conference championships.

Branco credits Deckert, and his call for someone to fill the void left by Costello’s graduation, as the key to the Crusaders’ success.

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“He told us we needed to step up since he was gone.” Branco said. “I think I did a good job with that.”

Branco ended on a strong note with a 14th-place finish in a very competitive Group III South race, helping the Crusaders qualify for the state meet and have the 10th-fastest team time overall on the day. At the state meet, Holmdel proved to be too much as he had to settle for 67th.

Now that his first season of cross country is in the books, the reluctance has left Branco and has been replaced with optimism. After a little time off, Branco is back to running, going indoors for winter track and planning on lowering his 1,600 and 800 times in the spring. As for next fall, Deckert need not worry about convincing Branco to come out for cross country.

“I am definitely going out next year,” said Branco, who is receiving some early feelers from small Division I programs. “There is still so much left I want to do.”

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